The present invention relates generally to clocks and visual aids for use in time management, teaching time concepts, organization, and scheduling.
Many people have difficulty keeping track of time and managing their schedules. This is especially true of children, who may not be able to understand the concept of time, read a clock, or keep track of how long daily activities take. Accordingly, parents are often forced to encourage children constantly to hurry or remind them repeatedly about upcoming events. Such constant reminders are tedious for parents and frustrating to children, who usually prefer not to be told what to do. Additionally, such reminders do not support or increase the child""s understanding of time.
Because smaller children (and some adults) cannot tell time, traditional clocks are ineffective aids to help them manage their time and schedules. Calendars or other planners that keep track of scheduled events according to the time and date they are to occur are ineffective for similar reasons. Moreover, most children are easily distracted and have little sense for the concept of how long activities take. As such, even children who can tell time are unlikely to check a calendar, remember specific times for scheduled events or even remember to look at a clock when engaged in daily activities. Thus, children have difficulty transitioning from one activity to another (i.e., understanding the progress of a current activity and preparing for the next one).
What is needed is a system to visually aid in teaching the concept of time, managing time, and remembering scheduled events that can be used by children and others who have difficulty keeping track of time using traditional clocks or planners.
What is needed is a system to visually aid in managing time and remembering scheduled events that is interactive and interesting to children and others.
The present invention provides a convenient, effective, and interactive system to aid children or others for both managing time and remembering scheduled events. The present event clock visually demonstrates the time during which at least one predetermined event is scheduled to occur. Generally, the event clock includes a timing mechanism, an indicator operatively connected to the timing mechanism, and at least one event marker. The event marker is disposed in relation to the indicator such that the indicator provides a signal during the time the event is scheduled to occur.
Preferably, the event clock is provided with numerous event markers that are removably affixed to the face of the event clock and can be rearranged depending on the individual user""s schedule. In addition, the indicator preferably provides a signal that also demonstrates the passage of time during the scheduled event (such as a pointer sweeping across the event marker). Each event marker visually symbolizes (through pictures, words, or otherwise) a scheduled event. During the scheduled time, the indicator signals (such as by pointing at the appropriate event marker) that the particular event is scheduled to occur.
The present invention has several advantages over typical clocks. For example, a child or other user need not be able to tell time or remember a schedule to use the present invention. Rather, the present invention signals the user directly at the time of a scheduled event and visually demonstrates the passage of time during a scheduled event. In fact, the event clock of the present invention provides parents an opportunity to teach children about timekeeping and scheduling while also allowing children to keep track of their own schedules in the interim.
The present event clock is also interactive and interesting to children. Children (either alone or with the help of an adult) can arrange and rearrange appropriate event markers on the front face of the event clock to correspond to changing schedules. The event markers can be made from a variety of materials and removably affixed to the front face of the event clock by any number of means, including magnets, Velcro, snaps, etc. In addition, scheduled events can be depicted on the event markers in a variety of ways. Premade event markers depicting certain events can be purchased along with the event clock, and/or markers can be hand-made or altered with decals, markers, paints, etc. to personalize the event clock. Further, several event markers can be used to signal a single event (such as by having multiple consecutive event markers of the same color). Extra event markers can be stored within the event clock itself, and the event clock preferably includes a handle and finger holes so that it is easily portable by a child or other user.